1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to baseball bats and a method for manufacturing baseball bats, and more particularly, to baseball bats with the cores thereof fabricated from bamboo fibers fused together and a method for manufacturing baseball bats having fiber-fused cores.
2. Prior Art
Because of bamboo's exceptional durability, baseball bats made of bamboo materials show an extended bat life span and make excellent training bats. In addition, the nonreversible consumption of wood materials for manufacturing baseball bat has raised environmental concerns. Accordingly, bamboo baseball bats have been developed and manufactured as an alternative, which could save cost for the raw materials as well as protect the environment.
Presently, bamboo baseball bats employ a traditional technique for their fabrication. Such a traditional technique is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. FIG. 1A illustrates a bamboo baseball bat blank 100 and FIG. 1B illustrates a sectional view of the blank 100 taken about line 1B-1B in FIG. 1A. The blank 100 includes of a plurality of bamboo strips 102, each of which is typically about 10 mm thick by 900 mm long. The bamboo strips 102 are glued together in the same direction (direction A) to form the blank 100, which is typically about 70 mm by 70 mm in cross-section. As shown in FIG. 1B, the strips 102 are typically adhered in a staggered pattern. The blank 100 is then processed to form a finished baseball bat.
According to the existing industry standard, a baseball bat is around 25 mm in diameter at the thinnest part thereof where the baseball bat is prone to break during use. One reason leading to the failure of the baseball bat is that the symmetricalness of the bat relative to the central axis of the bat is not satisfactory and accordingly, the baseball bat is anisotropic in mechanical performance. Another reason is that the strength of the core section of the bat, which substantially runs through the entire length of the bat, is not satisfactory.
In addition, due to the intense market competition, manufacturers of bamboo baseball bats are offering warranties against breakage for a predetermined period of time, for example, 30 days. However, the current warranties cannot meet the expectations of the consumers.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a bamboo baseball bat with improved symmetricalness relative to the central axis and an improved core which is strong, solid and unified. Accordingly, warranties against breakage for a longer time can be offered to the consumers.